Charmed Life.

Chapter Five.

© All rights reserved. LittleThingsInLife

Chapter 5

"Alex?" She repeated. Everybody looked at me. I sat frozen for what felt like hours but could have only been mere seconds. What do you say to someone when the last time you saw them you were standing over their dead husband?

"Hey Margery, long time no see."

"Heeyyy Marge, it's so good to see you."

"Sup Mrs. Potts, how's life treating you?"

They all seemed ridiculous, and not just because I'd never said 'sup' to anybody in my entire life.

It seemed I didn't need to greet her. She walked slowly around the table until she was stood right in front of me.

"It is you!" she exclaimed, reaching out to cup my face in her hands. I jumped up instinctually and heard the clatter of my stool fall to the ground.

The silence that filled the room was awkward and tense. Marge looked apologetic and I stayed confused. Then it dawned on me; the Spencer's had told her about my past.

"I didn't realise you were the Alex coming to stay here, silly of me really. I should have known. I'm sorry."

I should have seen the signs, That is what she meant. I was always silent and when Derek, Stephen and I would go round for 'dinner' it would be uncomfortable; Derek trying to pull off being the 'dad' but I was never one to act the part of a loving daughter. If you weren't aware of our 'situation' you'd just see me as a sulking teenager and him an overbearing, overprotective and loving father.

It was sick really.

The whole of the table was watching us aptly and I was worried they'd question what she was talking about.

"You two know each other?" Aiden spoke up.

"A long time ago, my husband was friends with her step father. They came round for dinner a couple of times. That's all." Marge answered.

"Oh, how is Derek, I can't believe we didn't ask yesterday, guess we were caught up in seeing you ey?"

There is was; the question I didn't know how to answer, didn't want to answer. At least not yet anyway, I'd only just got here, I needed more time to adjust; to trust, or to come up with a good lie.

"Uhm, H-he, he's..." in prison "away for a while, b-because of work. That's-that's why I'm he-here." That's wasn't a complete lie; he has gone away, and it's partly because of his drug dealing job, so it is because of his work... kind of.

"Wasn't he a tech support guy, where would they need to move him?" Aiden asked, not suspiciously, just with curious interest.

I coughed to grant me a few moments to compose myself, Karl and Sandra hadn't yet spoken up to help me, so I figured they were doing as they said; letting me decide. "The company was moving." I lied quietly. I could see everyone around the table have to inch closer to hear me properly, everyone except Taylor and Ben, who weren't remotely interested in my made up excuses.

Marge came to my rescue before anymore questions could be asked "Can I have a few minutes with Alex alone?" She looked towards Karl and Sandra, who nodded before engaging their kids in conversations about their plans for the day.

I slowly followed Margery out of the kitchen and into another room filled with musical instruments.

"This is Jamie's music room. It's soundproof so he and his band can play without getting on everyone's nerves," she hesitated, "So no one will hear us."